The Beginning

This weekend was the Regional meet in Oshkosh. I didn't run since I was only 9th on our team at conference. Instead, I went along to cheer on my teammates. We got to the course Friday afternoon and ran the entire 5 miles. I honestly didn't like the course at all, thinking it was way too flat and smooth. I absolutely abhor running in circles on a golf course. But everybody else seems to love those kinds of races just because they give you fast times. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain since I was only a spectator this time.

Speaking of spectating...I don't think I've ever gotten such a workout at a meet before without actually running the race. I did about 6 miles in the morning before we left for the meet, then spent the entire time we were at the course sprinting back and forth while screaming my lungs out. Twiet was busy taking mile splits, so I accompanied him and tried to point out a few of our teammates while I cheered. Meanwhile, Jon wore our mascot, Freddy the Falcon, which provided a great deal of difficulty as he desperately tried to keep up with the rest of us. Twiet, Daniel, Fife and I put on blue war paint and hair spray that we'd collected with Dave and Mike the night before (while wandering around the streets outside at 8 PM). That, combined with a few other props such as blue beads and a certain santa hats, as well as a lack of shirts, resulted in quite a fan crew.

The races went pretty great overall. Most (if not all) of the women managed to PR, and a lot of the guys did as well. Some people dropped as much as a minute. Ash and Braun were pretty disappointed by their performances even though they're both way faster than guys like me. Nobody made it to nationals, which means the season is over. I don't think those guys will ever be fully satisfied with how fast they are, but that's good in a way. It means they'll never stop trying to get better. And that's exactly how it should be for all of us. I saw some of those guys absolutely dying out there today, releasing all the monster they could muster and still coming up shorter than they'd hoped. The monter's not so much about winning or running a fast time though. It's about trying as hard as you possibly can. If you did your best, you can't be disappointed in yourself because there's nothing more you could have accomplished. And there's always another race. Because this isn't the end. It's only the beginning.


It's November 14, 2009. Track season starts tomorrow.